The 2011 Project is a work by San Francisco artist Tofu. Each day in 2011 he created a 4”x4” mixed media piece. The finished project was made up of 365 smaller mixed media pieces. In 2013 the individual pieces will be distributed to project supporters. The project also acted as sketchbook for new ideas, which continue to be incorporated into new work
For more information please visit 2011project.com

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

February 8, 2011 – Purple

I have nearly 40 pieces completed for the 2011 Project. I realized something is missing. I generally do not make use of pinks and purples. I have nothing against these colors. They just don’t find their way into most of my work. My jar of purple paint tends to last years.

This is the time of the year when I should be inspired to make use of brighter colors. Spring is on the way and California is turning up the saturation. Last week on the way to Point Reyes we found ourselves on that high stretch of Route One between Muir Beach and Stinson Beach. The Farallons were in view to the west, no fog and a deep blue sea. Looking inland, down into the valley, there were bright sections of green and hills with broad patches of magenta wildflowers with Mt. Tam in the distance. I love the colors but that doesn’t mean I paint with them much. Then again, I am a painter who prefers the Monets where he was running out of paint.

About Me

I am an artist living in San Francisco. I work primarily in mixed media, collage and landscape painting. My work has included maps, postcard-themed art and mail art projects. In 2013 I began a series called Collagescapes where I start painting paper with areas of color representing the palette of a specific place. Next I cut the paper into hundreds of small pieces, randomize the pieces and then reassemble them in various geometric patterns. Collagescapes are both landscape paintings and collages. They appear abstract but retain the color palette of the places they represent.
My new series is Time Travel Photos — handmade photo collages showing places in San Francisco where I have cut and sliced present-day photographs and interwoven photos of nature representing how the City looked before Europeans arrived. Each is an image of an urban space with the natural past emerging through. For example, creeks once again run through the Mission and dunes reappear in Golden Gate Park and tidal flats fill the Embarcadero.
My work has shown in over 40 venues, primarily in California but also in other locations in the United States and abroad. My artwork can be viewed at tofuart.com